on fish with feelings

I rode my bike across town
To sit with a friend
Who was on bed rest
Waiting for her life
To unfold
To take hold.
The city was quiet that weekend.
No races
No soccer
No festivals.
Just the hot moist air.
The news
And the rising oil prices.
On this side of the world
There seemed to be
A moment of silence
A lull.
But under my sternum
There was this burning.
Maybe there was something wrong
Or like Kurt Cobain said,
Something in the way.